The head of the Russian defense ministry's exterior relations, Leonid Ivachov left Moscow on Sunday for a five-day visit to Iran for military cooperation talks, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

It is the first visit by a top-ranked Russian officer to Iran since 1991 and since Moscow declared in January that it would continue its military cooperation with Iran, a move seen at the time as anti-American.

The issue of Iran has dogged US-Russian relations for years, with Washington repeatedly criticizing Russia's role in the construction of a nuclear reactor in southern Iran - MOSCOW (AFP)